Ngolunye usuku ngathola injabulo emfishane yokubuka iBangistan ne-Sri Lanka ebhokisini lokugaya. Kuthathe cishe ihora nje lapho amanye amalungu omndeni ephumelela ukuthola intengo kude nami lapho nje umhlane wami ujikile.
Kepha bekuyi-cricket ye-test ngaso sonke isikhathi. Kwakungekho kufiphaza ama-wike futhi ama-run ambalwa kuphela abekiwe kodwa ngokombono womdlalo bekungewona obaluleke kakhulu.
I-batsman eyindilinga ephakathi nendawo emnandi futhi ehlale iluhlaza okotshani, uKumar Sangakkara wayenze elinye futhi ikhulu leminyaka njengoba ebheka ukushisa umsila ukuthola umugqa wokuqala oholayo ozohola abaphethe. Sri Lanka kwadingeka ukuhola nxazonke 40 isebenza ngama-wicket amane kuphela ngesandla. Ukuqongelela ikhilikithi lokulinganisa njengoba umdlalo ubhebhetheka futhi ugeleza.
Into sad kwaba isixuku - noma ukuntuleka. Bengingekho lapho ngangingakwazi kuphela ukubona lokho TV bachachamba emuva. Kepha kulokhu engakubona bekufana nokubuka umdlalo wesibili we-XI ngokuya ngamanani ezihlalweni. It was the proverbial ‘one man and his dog’ stuff.
Lokhu kubangela amahloni enkulu. I am an unapologetic fan of test match cricket. Ngoba kimi kuyinto esizedlula zonke sport best in the world. One day cricket is fun and helps to generate decent sums of money but nothing beats a closely fought five day match. In England attendances seem to be fairly stable but if the Bangladesh v Sri Lanka attendance is anything to go by (hardly a scientific test, ngiyazi) Angazi wesabela ikusasa.
And I wish I knew the answer to get attendances back up. Do ticket prices play a part? Is too much cricket (zonke izinhlobo) wadlala? Are the pitches too helpful to batsmen so teams rack up 500+ Izikolo e ngamunye Innings?
My opinion? As always it’s probably a mixture of the various issues. Test match cricket is a pricey business in the UK but there still seems to be enough people willing to part with their hard-earned cash to fill grounds. But in other countries the question needs to be asked if that is the case? If money is a barrier then get prices down. Sharpish. Thola izingane for free. Too much cricket is also played across the globe and too many modern day batsmen are growing over-inflated averages they don’t merit because of batting friendly surfaces (these are debates for another day).
If you have some thoughts then please contribute to the discussion.
“Ibhola eliphinki libonakala limpunga/eliluhlaza okwesibhakabhaka ngokubomvu/okuhlaza ngokungaboni kahle, kuye ngokuqina kwayo. Ngenza ukulingisa ngobumpumputhe bemibala…”